Unlike the weekly, budget-constrained TV series of the 1980s, the OVA format granted the creative team—led by director Shigeyasu Yamauchi (ep. 1–13) and later Tomoharu Katsumata—two luxuries: time and artistic freedom. The Hades OVAs were produced as monthly releases, each episode polished to a mirror sheen. The result is immediately visible. The character designs by Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, returning from the original series, are rendered with finer lines, softer shadows, and greater fidelity to Kurumada’s later, more detailed art style. The palette shifts from the primary-colored vibrancy of the 80s to a somber, metallic elegance—gold cloths gleam with real weight, while the Surplice armors of the Specters possess an organic, skeletal eeriness.
Where does it fit in the main timeline? After the (end of original TV series, ep 114). The Hades OVAs ignore the Asgard filler arc (TV eps 74–99) — but that’s fine. Saint Seiya Ova Hades Batch